Fire, water, burglary and storm damage at home: which insurance pays?

In short

A tenant is in principle liable for fire and water damage, unless they prove it started without their fault. Tenant insurance is now compulsory in all three regions.

Your own home policy pays your loss and then recovers from the person liable or their insurer. “The other side’s insurer must pay first” is not, as a rule, a reason to keep you waiting.

In a burglary, “the window was open, the alarm was off” is not enough for a full refusal if there is no causal link between the breach and the theft (Insurance Act, art. 65). The result can differ if the policy wording is a condition of cover.

Flood, overflow of public sewers, earthquake and landslide are compulsory cover in a home fire policy; exclusions are limited to those listed in the Act (art. 123-128).

A person who suffers damage has a direct right of action against the liable party’s insurer (art. 150).

If an old leak turns up in a home you have just bought, write to both insurers at once; the seller’s insurer cannot rely on the “no liability for hidden defects” clause of a sale contract it is not a party to (FSMA Insurance Commission, 2019).

A fire broke out in my rented home and spread to the neighbours: who is liable and which insurance pays?

Short answer: towards your landlord, you are liable unless you can prove the fire started without your fault; this is paid by your tenant’s liability insurance (responsabilité locative / huurdersaansprakelijkheid). Damage to the neighbouring flat is a separate liability question.

Towards the landlord. The date and region of the lease matter:

Wallonia: decree of 15.3.2018, art. 17 §1: « Le preneur répond de l’incendie, à moins qu’il ne prouve que celui-ci s’est déclaré sans sa faute. » This rule applies to all residential leases, including those signed before 1.9.2018; the insurance duty (§2) applies only to leases signed or renewed from 1.9.2018 (art. 91). The Walloon rule refers to fire only.
Flanders: written leases signed from 1.1.2019, Woninghuurdecreet art. 29: the tenant is liable for fire and water damage unless they prove the fire started without their fault; both tenant and landlord must insure that liability. Older written leases remain governed by the former Civil Code (art. 80).
Brussels: leases signed or renewed from 1.11.2024, Housing Code art. 220/1: same rule for fire and water damage; the tenant takes out insurance before moving in. The same ordinance repealed former Civil Code art. 1733 for residential leases from 1.11.2024 (ordinance art. 37-38). For events before that date, art. 1733 applies. For a fire after 1.11.2024 under an older Brussels lease, former art. 1732, which remains in force, leads to a similar result: the tenant is liable for damage and losses during their occupation unless they prove these occurred without their fault.

Courts treat this proof as demanding: the tenant must show that no fault on their part contributed to the fire (Liège Court of Appeal, 20.12.2012). But if the cause is a hidden defect in an appliance supplied by the landlord, the tenant can escape liability: in a fire caused by the cable of a 22-year-old dishwasher installed by the landlord, the tenant was not held liable (Liège Court of Appeal, 3.3.2016). If it is unclear whether the fire came from the wiring or from your own appliance, the presumption works against you towards the landlord; the outcome largely depends on the technical expert evidence.

The landlord’s insurance. The landlord’s building insurer repairs the building and then turns to you (and your insurer) by subrogation (art. 95). If the landlord’s policy contains a waiver of recourse (abandon de recours / afstand van verhaal) in your favour, that recourse is in principle excluded; read the scope of the clause in the policy. The landlord can also claim directly from your insurer, and that indemnity does not go to your other creditors (art. 122).

Towards the neighbours. The neighbour (or their insurer) must prove your fault, or that a defective thing in your custody (gardien) caused the damage (former Civil Code art. 1382-1384; for events after 1.1.2025, Civil Code Book 6, art. 6.16 for defective things). Even if the appliance belongs to the landlord, you are in principle its custodian: in the Liège case the tenant was treated as custodian of the dishwasher. Liability for a defective thing does not require fault; one court held the custodians of a fire-ravaged building liable to the neighbours on that basis (Antwerp Court of Appeal, 17.4.2013). In that case you (or your insurer) pay the neighbour and can then turn to the landlord for the hidden defect (former Civil Code art. 1721). Check whether your policy includes “neighbours’ recourse” (recours des tiers) cover.

Steps: notify both insurers straight away; keep the fire brigade report and photos; do not throw away the burnt appliance or cables (art. 110); consider your own technical expert.

Water from the flat upstairs damaged my home; the neighbour blames the common pipes, the building manager blames pipes inside the flat. Who pays?

Short answer: your own policy first. Who owns the pipe does not decide who pays you; it decides who recovers from whom.

The building’s common policy (police globale / police syndic) in most buildings covers both the common parts and the flats (as building), but not the contents of the flats [Sectoral: Assuralia]. Write to the building manager (syndic) for ceiling and wall damage, and to your own home or contents policy for your belongings.
Your own policy pays the water damage minus the excess; if it then recovers from the liable party’s insurer, it also refunds the excess to you [Sectoral: Assuralia]. If it cannot, you can claim the excess directly from the neighbour or through legal expenses insurance.
Who is liable? If the water came from common pipes, the association of co-owners (association des copropriétaires) may be liable; if from pipes inside a flat, that flat’s owner or tenant. For events before 1.1.2025, former Civil Code art. 1384(1) applies; after that, Book 6, art. 6.16 (defective thing).
Two owners insured under the same common policy: according to the Court of Cassation, each owner is insured only for their own unit; the common insurer that paid can turn to the liable owner and their liability insurer (Cass. 4.12.2014, C.13.0617.F).

Belgium has no agreement for home claims comparable to the French IRSI convention, which decides which insurer manages the file. In its 2025 report, the Ombudsman recommends a single-expert framework modelled on the motor damage expertise agreement, noting that each insurer sending its own expert delays files. So, against “go to that insurer first” answers, the safest course is to notify both insurers in writing at the same time.

Challenging the loss adjuster: if you dispute the amount under a home policy, you can appoint your own expert; if the two disagree, a third is chosen. The insurer pays up front (advances) the costs of your expert and of the third expert, and the losing side ultimately bears them (for fire damage, art. 121 §2 2°; for other perils such as water, storm and theft and for other property insurance, art. 111/1 §3 for claims made from 1.10.2024). See our guide on adjusters and delays.

Steps: photos and video of the leak, a plumber’s report (exact source), written notice to the building manager and the neighbour, and an adjuster’s visit before repairs.

Burglars broke into my home; the insurer refuses because “the window was open and the alarm was off”. Have I lost all cover?

Short answer: not always. It depends on how the policy condition is worded and whether the breach is linked to the theft.

If the condition is an obligation (forfeiture, déchéance). The insurer can refuse only if there is a causal link between the breach and the loss (Insurance Act, art. 65). Examples:

An alarm clause did not clearly require the alarm to be set while an authorised person was inside; the refusal was held unjustified (Mons Court of Appeal, 12.11.2015, 2014/RG/869).
Burglars were able to work undisturbed for hours in an empty house protected by a high hedge; there was no link between the alleged lack of precautions and the theft (Liège Court of Appeal, 29.6.2015).
A “house empty for more than 60 days” clause is also a forfeiture; the insurer failed to prove causation and had to pay (Liège Court of Appeal, 14.3.2016).
By contrast, where burglars got in through a window left tilted open, the court accepted that the theft would not have happened that way with the window closed, and upheld the refusal (Mons Court of Appeal, 17.3.2016). The same court held that, where the policy does not define “break-in” (effraction), forcing a window counts as a break-in (15.6.2017).

If the condition is a condition of cover. If a clause such as “when you are away, doors must be locked with a key” defines the cover, you must prove the door was locked (Liège Court of Appeal, 17.12.2012). A vaguely worded duty of care, on the other hand, cannot ground a forfeiture. According to the Court of Cassation, art. 65 clauses are not limited to gross negligence; with a sufficiently specific obligation and a causal link, they can apply to ordinary negligence too (Cass. 10.3.2025, C.24.0343.F).

How do I prove the value? The burden of proving the theft and the loss is on you, but because this is hard to prove, a sincere and plausible statement may be enough if nothing casts doubt on it (Brussels Court of Appeal, 26.6.2012). Invoices, bank and card statements, a jeweller’s valuation or earlier appraisal for jewellery, photos showing you with the items, boxes, warranty documents and the police report all help. Check the policy’s sub-limits for “valuables”. Do not exaggerate: a deliberately inflated claim can cost you the entire cover, including the genuine part (art. 76 §2; Liège Court of Appeal, 2021/RG/262).

After a storm and heavy rain my basement flooded and the roof and garden wall were damaged; the insurer refuses part of it as “lack of maintenance”

Short answer: split the damage item by item. Each item has its own cover and its own exclusion rules.

Basement. Run-off water (ruissellement) caused by the soil being unable to absorb rainfall is legally a flood; overflow or backflow of public sewers is also natural disaster cover (art. 124). Natural disaster cover is compulsory and indivisible in a home fire policy (art. 123). The insurer may only apply the exclusions listed in the Act (art. 127-128). For example, contents in a cellar stored less than 10 cm above the floor can be excluded, but not if the room is permanently lived in. A blockage in the building’s own internal pipes is not a natural disaster but falls under water damage cover. Which cover applies changes the excess and limits (Liège Court of Appeal, 9.9.2013). For natural disasters the excess may not exceed €610 (indexed; €1,612.29 at January 2025 values) (art. 130).

Roof. Storm cover is also compulsory in a home fire policy. The minimum definition: wind of at least 100 km/h at the nearest RMI (KMI/IRM) station, or damage to similar buildings within 10 km (Royal Decree of 24.12.1992, simple risks, annex; the definition was introduced by the Royal Decree of 16.1.1995 and has not changed since 1.10.1995, the consolidated text being last updated in 2004). Many policies use a lower threshold; check yours.

Garden wall. The decree allows storm cover to exclude « fences and hedges of any kind » (clôtures et haies de n’importe quelle nature), items outside a building and easily dismantled structures (art. 3 §1); a wall enclosing a plot may fall under this exclusion; natural disaster cover may also exclude fences and garden structures (art. 127 §2 c). Whether your wall counts as “building” or “fence” under the policy is decisive.

The maintenance defence. According to the Court of Cassation, the equivalence (“but for”) test also applies in property insurance: if the damage would not have occurred as it did without the storm, there is a causal link between the storm and the damage, and unless the law or the contract provides otherwise, a contribution by poor maintenance does not break that link (Cass. 14.3.2025, C.23.0450.N). The insurer can rely only on a clearly worded maintenance exclusion in the policy and must prove that its conditions are met (Civil Code Book 8, art. 8.4); an unclear clause is read in your favour (Insurance Act, art. 23). A general duty such as “taking all usual precautions” cannot be applied so as to empty the cover of its substance (Brussels Court of Appeal, 8.2.1999, 95/AR/2429). But where the circumstances make the exclusion highly likely, a court may consider that sufficient (Liège Court of Appeal, 16.11.2020). Ask the insurer in writing which item it refuses and on what ground; RMI wind and rainfall data, damage to neighbouring houses and roof maintenance invoices are your evidence.

Under new-for-old cover, wear and tear may only be deducted for storm damage if it exceeds 20%, and for other damage if it exceeds 30% (Decree art. 9 §3; Act art. 121 §5). For natural disasters after 21.12.2023, rehousing costs are covered for 1 year (previously 3 months; art. 126).

During renovation the contractor drilled through a water pipe; my home and the flat below were damaged. Which insurance pays?

Short answer: your own water damage cover can pay and then recover from the contractor; both you and the neighbour below can also claim directly from the contractor’s liability insurer.

Direct right of action: the injured party has its own right against the liable party’s insurer (droit propre, art. 150). The contractor’s business liability insurance (RC exploitation) is optional, so the insurer can only raise against you exclusions based on facts before the loss; later facts, such as late notification by the contractor, cannot be raised against you (art. 151 §2). Ask the contractor in writing for the insurer’s name and policy number.
Your own policy: the water damage cover in your home policy normally works regardless of whether a third party is liable. Your insurer pays and then turns to the contractor and its insurer (art. 95). Check whether your policy has a specific exclusion for building works.
The neighbour below: can go to their own insurer, or claim from the contractor and its insurer. They can also claim from you for abnormal neighbourhood nuisance (trouble de voisinage) (Civil Code Book 3, art. 3.101, since 1.9.2021; before that, former art. 544). According to legal writers, a contractor is not a “neighbour” under this rule, so if the neighbour claims from you, you in turn claim from the contractor. According to the Court of Cassation, “third-party recourse” cover in a fire policy does not cover art. 544 liability (Cass. 4.6.2020, C.19.0386.N); ask whether your own policy covers this situation.
Common objections from the contractor’s insurer: exclusions for “damage to the item being worked on” or “poor workmanship”. Repairing the pierced pipe and the damage water did to other property are separate items.

Deadlines: a direct action against the insurer must be brought within 5 years of the event (or from when you learned of it, at most 10 years; art. 88 §2). In an undisputed file, the liability insurer must make a reasoned offer within 3 months (art. 145/2).

An old water leak inside the walls has appeared in the home I just bought; the seller’s insurer, my insurer and the building’s insurer keep passing the buck

Short answer: even if the start date is unknown, send a written claim to all of them at once. According to the FSMA Insurance Commission, cover must be provided where the building or the risk was continuously insured; this opinion is not binding, but it is a strong argument before the Ombudsman and the courts.

FSMA Insurance Commission (opinion C 2019/2): the Ombudsman received exactly this kind of case (often dry rot, mérule). In its conclusion, the Commission states that cover must be provided where the building or the risk was continuously insured, and that the seller’s insurer cannot rely on a “no liability for hidden defects” clause in a sale contract to which it is not a party. According to the experts, the insurer that must pay is the one whose contract was in force when the damage occurred. The circular Assuralia drew up in 2010 was never published and is applied only to a limited extent.
Why your proof matters: dry rot damage can be covered as water damage if it can be traced to a cause covered by the policy (e.g. a pipe leak); the policyholder proves the cause, the insurer proves any exclusion (Brussels Court of Appeal, 19.10.1995). A report showing the source and age of the leak is therefore decisive.
The 3 months after the sale: for 3 months from the notarial deed, the buyer benefits from the seller’s policy if they have no policy of their own (art. 111 §1).
The building’s common policy: if it covered the building continuously before and after the sale, continuity of cover is a strong argument.
Scope of the policy: dry rot is not covered by every policy; “slow leak” and “wear” exclusions are common. A sudden burst pipe and a leak that has run for years are treated differently.
Against the seller: the hidden defect rules apply (former Civil Code art. 1641 ff.). The new Book 7 of the Civil Code on specific contracts was adopted in 2026, but it enters into force on the first day of the twelfth month after publication in the Moniteur belge, i.e. 1.9.2027, and will apply only to sales concluded after that date [Sectoral: Eubelius, Derweduez]; current sales remain under the former rules; the action must be brought “within a short time” (art. 1648). A “no liability for hidden defects” clause does not protect a seller who knew of the defect. Fresh paint, repair invoices or neighbours’ statements showing the seller knew are important.
Sharing between insurers: the insurer that pays can later recover from other insurers or the liable party (seller, contractor) (art. 95, 99); this internal allocation should not be a reason to keep you waiting.

Steps: have a plumber or independent expert record the location and age of the leak; gather the deed date, the former owner’s policy details (notary file) and the building policy; send registered letters to all three insurers on the same day. If refused, go to the Ombudsman (refusals, adjusters and Ombudsman guide).

Checklist

Notify the loss immediately and in writing; keep the dates (art. 74).
Take photos, video and measurements before repairs; do not needlessly throw away damaged items (art. 110).
Your policy, the building’s common policy, the other side’s liability policy: write to all three.
If refused, ask in writing which clause is relied on: exclusion, forfeiture or condition of cover? Is there a causal link?
If you rent: date and region of the lease, waiver of recourse in the landlord’s policy.
Natural disaster: the excess must not exceed €610 (indexed); is the exclusion on the art. 127-128 list?
If you dispute the amount, appoint your own expert and ask the insurer to pay the costs up front (advance) (art. 121 §2).
You have 3 years to sue your insurer (art. 88 §1); see our Deadlines guide.
Do you have legal expenses insurance? See our Legal expenses guide.

You can search rulings on similar cases on our Decision Search page.

Sources

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Current as of 09.10.2026.